-Hellos and Goodbyes-

The morning candy birds tweeted their songs, informing the inhabitants of the sugary kingdom that the day was beginning. The sun's rays reflected majestically off of the glossy surfaces of several structures, including Princess Bubblegum's impressive castle. Speaking of which, the monarch, along with Jake, who stayed over to be close to his injured bro, was making her way to the hospital rooms to check up on her patients.

Meanwhile, within the doors of the infirmary, Finn and Flame Princess managed to both begin awakening simultaneously, in part due to the golden sunlight streaming into their eyes at just the right angle. The two teens slowly uncovered their vision and gazed at the ceiling above. After a moment, they noticed the foreign sensation in their hands.

Letting their heads fall to face each other, the pair was stunned to realize they were basically right next to one another. Even more shocking, was the bond between their hands, lying on the table beside them. At first however, they simply stared at the clasped appendages, every so often sneaking a look into the other's eyes.

Eventually, both slowly slid their hands out of the grip, returning them to their owners' side. Next, Finn and FP carefully sat up, then swung over their legs to place them firmly on the ground, now facing each other with silence. Soon enough, they grew a slight red coloring on their cheeks.

The quiet was interrupted when Jake threw open the doors, eager to see his brother's condition. Naturally, both teens jumped at the sound.

"Finn! You're ok! And you too, FP! We were so wor-"

He frowned, seeing the obvious minor blushes the two had and the look of surprise on their faces. The dog scratched his head as PB walked up next to him.

"Uh, were you guys making out or something?"

Sadly, that only worsened the crimson coloring of the pair's skin.

"No! How could we? Did you forget, dude?"

Jake thought for a moment then shrugged.

"Oh well."

Peebles rolled her eyes, walking past the slightly embarrassed dog and making her way to the two bedridden teens. Her expression was now set in confusion and disbelief.

"What the huh? Your wounds, they're gone!"

Finn and FP examined their bodies, seeing that the candy woman was correct. They looked 'fresh out of the box'.

"Whoa, cool," Finn whispered.

PB shook her head.

"No, Finn. Not 'cool'. This is serious. You both had crazy injuries, and now, the very next morning, there's not a scratch on either of you."

The human frowned, placing a hand over his chest.

"Hm. Maybe a magical fairy came over the night and fixed us up."

Bubblegum face-palmed.

"So immature," she mumbled to herself.

Jake came over to the young hero's bedside and smiled.

"Yo dude, we were gonna go out and recruit some more peeps for the fight. Wanna join?"

The dog was sure such an activity would cheer up his homie, but was bewildered when the human shook his head.

"No thanks."

The other three in the room were stunned.

"Wha? Are you serious?"

Finn nodded.

"Yeah."

He gazed at Jake and PB.

"Listen, can you guys step out for a minute? I wanna talk to Flame Princess."

Peebles and the boy's bro looked at each other for a moment, concern plastered on their faces. Jake shrugged, then the gazed back at Finn.

"Ok, dude."

The two slowly turned and walked back out the door, closing it gently behind them. Once silence had returned, Finn swung to face the princess, who was staring back at him with the same concerned expression as the others.

"FP, I'm going."

The fire elemental furrowed her brow.

"What do you mean?"

The human promptly stood up, picking up his nearby backpack in the process and slinging it on. Flame Princess stood up too, confused by his sudden activity.

"Where are you going?"

Finn gazed solemnly into the girl's amber eyes.

"I'm going to find the humans...on my own."

FP's eyes went wide as her mouth dropped open.

"What! You can't be serious! You'll get killed!"

The hero shook his head.

"No. They don't want to kill us. At least I don't think they do."

He groaned, frustrated at not knowing for sure.

"Only as a last resort. Look, FP, I want you and the others to stop looking for them."

The fire elemental suddenly shifted to an upset face.

"Is this about you being 'the last human' and all? Cuz that's a load of bunk now, you've got no right to keep us out of the investigation, not when it threatens all our kingdom's too."

Finn hung his head.

"Yeah…you're right. But,"

He looked up again, his face set in deep concern, relaxing away FP's scowl.

"If any of you run into Fourth Arc again I don't want him to use me as a way to hurt you guys. So, if I go, on my own, you'll know there's no way it's me."

Flame Princess took a step closer to the boy.

"Wh-what do you mean on your own?"

Finn spotted the window of the hospital out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't look for me."

Briefly, he took gentle hold of FP's hand, using the tinfoil that was still wrapped around his. After squeezing softly for a moment, he let go and tore the silvery paper off, quickly displaying some origami skills and shaping it into a small flower, which he promptly presented to the young ruler before him.

Flame Princess carefully took the item, appearing to be in the image of a rose. During the moment when she was distracted by the gift, Finn quickly jumped over her and the bed, landing on the far side of the room by the window.

"Finn, wait!"

It was too late; the human dived out the window, catching on to a TV cable and zip-lining down it with his sword. FP raced over to the opening and searched the candy streets below for any sign of the young hero. There were none. He was gone. The fire elemental stood there for a minute, staring out into the open with the silver flower cradled protectively in her hands.

Within moments however, the door to the room slowly cracked open, with Jake peeking his eyes and nose around the edge. He looked over the area for a second, then proceeded to open the door fully, allowing himself and Princess Bubblegum to reenter. They saw that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Finn?"

Flame Princess carefully placed the flower in the pocket of her dress, then turned to look sadly at Jake and PB.

"He…he left."

Peebles frowned.

"Left? Just like that?"

FP nodded.

"He wants to be on his own, so that if we run into Fourth Arc again, we won't be tricked by illusions of him."

The others stared at the floor.

"I see," Bubblegum replied.

The candy monarch then stepped over to Flame Princess, took out a strange instrument, and momentarily zapped the girl with it, upon which a green beam scanned her form. After shutting it off, PB glanced at the results on a screen, humming with intrigue.

"There's simply no explanation. No medicine, healing 'spell', cyclops tears, you name it. I can't figure out what removed yours and Finn's injuries."

The pink lady put down her device and sighed.

"Well, I suppose we have to respect his decision. He's only looking out for us all."

Jake and FP nodded solemnly.

"Yeah. I just hope I see my bro again soon."

Bubblegum then looked to Jake.

"Alright, who's this 'surprise guest' you were talking about earlier?"

The dog grinned.

"Ladies, if you would follow me."

He gestured for them all to exit. The three made their way slowly down the halls of the castle, heading down towards the ground floor. Once reaching their destination, which was one of the building's lobbies, Jake momentarily searched around before smiling and pointing to someone patiently waiting in one of the chairs, which was much too small for her.

PB was stunned, but Flame Princess was rather confused.

"Um, who is that?" she asked.

Jake suddenly remembered the fire elemental had never met nor heard of this particular individual.

"Come on, let's walk over and I'll introduce you."

The trio made their way across the room, coming up to the towering woman, who was ravenously biting into a chunk of the candy wall she'd torn off.

"FP, this is Susan Strong."

The fiery girl studied the woman, who seemed just as mesmerized by her appearance.

"Jake, who is glowing lady?" Susan asked.

The dog chuckled.

"This is Flame Princess. She's made of fire."

Curiously, Susan reached out her hand to poke FP in the arm. She yelped and recoiled at the instant burning.

"Ouch! She hot."

Jake laughed as FP blushed slightly from embarrassment.

"Man, that joke never gets old."

At this point, PB butted in.

"Jake, are you sure it's a good idea to have Susan around here? Remember what happened last time she was around candy."

The magical canine brushed her off.

"Chill, Prubs. Susie's past that now. Besides, we need her. If that jerk Sixth Arc comes around she can beat the pants off of him, no prob."

The candy princess crossed her arms.

"You said Sixth Arc was stronger than Susan."

With that, the dog rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, I mean, I don't know for sure. There's totally a chance that he's not."

Susan raised her fists and smiled with determination.

"Susan really strong. Can beat up bad guy no problem."

Jake grinned to PB.

"See? A fighting spirit is half the battle. Isn't that something you'd say?"

Bubblegum sighed.

"Alright, fine. She can help."

Jake cheered and gave Susan a high-five. Peebles rolled her eyes and pulled a map from her dress.

"Ok, Listen up. Since you two are so eager to beat up some super humans, you can check out the area beneath the candy castle."

Jake accepted the map and looked it over.

"Under here? Why?"

PB folded her arms again, thinking back.

"I detected unusual vibrations down there, and I have a hunch that their waste gathering efforts haven't ceased just yet. If you find Sixth Arc, you need to stop him."

Jake saluted, prompting Susan to do the same.

"Aye aye, Prubs. Let's go, Susie."

The humanoid pounded her fist into her palm as she followed the magical dog towards the underground floors of the castle.

"Susan punch bad guy big time."

Once the two had left, Peebles turned to Flame Princess.

"What will you do?"

FP gazed sadly at the ground.

"I guess, I'll head back to the Fire Kingdom, see if they've made any progress on finding the spy."

PB nodded.

"Sounds promising. Good luck."

The fiery girl nodded back and shifted into her fire form, instantly bolting out a window. Princess Bubblegum watched her go, hoping the young ruler could find something of value to the investigation. In the meantime, the candy monarch made her way back up to her lab, intent on finding more information about the mysterious group of humans and their unsettling gathering of materials.

What could they be planning?

As Bonnie reached the correct floor, she frowned. There wasn't anyone up here this early in the day, and yet, a light could be seen from underneath one of the doors to a smaller lab area. Concerned, PB walked over and quietly put an ear to the door. She could heard very minor tapping, along with an occasional step, and sipping, as if someone were drinking coffee.

Utterly confused, and aggravated that someone would be up here without her permission, Peebles kicked open the door, smacking it loudly against the wall inside. Remarkably, the person inside did not jump at the bang. Bubblegum's eyes went wide as the being slowly turned to her, swiveling in a chair and having previously been typing away at a nearby computer. There was in fact a cup of steaming coffee beside the keyboard.

"Who the junk are you?!"

However, instead of answering, the person calmly stood up and straightened her lab coat.

"I believe that you already know the answer to that, Princess Bubblegum."

Peebles studied the woman carefully, suddenly growing wide-eyed.

"Human…"

The other lady nodded. Her professional scientific attire was only halfway buttoned up, revealing a simple dark shirt underneath. It had a circle embedded into it, along with the symbol 'II'. Her skin was a deep brown, nicely complimenting her caramel eyes. Her chin length black hair curved inwards at their tips, creating an elegant frame for her face. Even PB had to admit, for a science-type she had quite the looks.

The candy princess tensed, knowing that they had not encountered this human before, meaning there was no telling what power she held. One thing PB could understand though was that this woman was clearly more intelligent than her allies. He cool demeanor and careful movements displayed incredible collectiveness and confidence.

"I assume you're the one who stole my chart?"

The woman nodded.

"And if I may ask, who are you?"

The lady delicately reached back and picked up her coffee, taking a quiet sip before placing it back down.

"I am Second Arc."

Peebles thought so. The princess cautiously closed the door behind her, not daring to take her eyes off of the human. Second Arc watched her with little interest.

"I am no threat to you; as long as that statement is mutual."

PB narrowed her eyes.

"Why should it? After what you're cohorts did to my friends?"

The dark-haired woman closed her eyes.

"I understand that Sixth and Fourth Arc have been entirely too reckless, for that I apologize."

Bubblegum took a few steps forward.

"Apologies won't fix the damage, especially since you're planning something that gives off a bad feeling."

Second Arc sighed.

"I see. I was hoping that you could be reasoned with. In honest truth, we did not wish for this to come to pass. But, your land is now the site of our greatest mission, and I cannot allow you to hinder our activities."

PB raised a defensive position.

"I know you're intelligent, but I doubt you're an adept fighter."

Second Arc gazed with a blank look at the princess.

"I am afraid you do not know exactly how intelligent I am."

PB scoffed.

"I think I do. You were working in here without your disguise, so that if you were discovered your cover would be intact. The moment I'd lose sight of you, you'd switch to a different appearance and I'd be back at square one."

The other woman nodded.

"Very good, princess."

She took a step towards the monarch.

"However, you are still incorrect in your assessment of my abilities."

Second Arc placed her hands behind her back and took one last step forward. She and PB were almost within arm's reach of one another. Suddenly, the circle in her shirt began to glow with an orange aura. Next, a ghostly circle expanded from where see stood, encompassing the entire room. When the border of the expansion hit PB, it instantly lit her up with the same orange color.

The human looked carefully at her opposition.

"I hope that you yourself have adequate offensive skill."

Peebles darted her eyes across the room, watching as the growing circle momentarily illuminated everything it touched, before finally fading away.

"What did you just do?" she demanded of Second Arc.

The dark-haired woman didn't change her expression.

"I have removed the chance for interference. Now, I believe I must be getting past you, otherwise risk the loss of all my work."

Finn exhaustedly paced through Red Rock Pass, having not taken a break since leaving the Candy Kingdom. By sheer luck, he was hoping to run into one of the Arcs while aimlessly wandering Ooo. A dumb plan, but then again, his plans usually worked out in the end, to an extent.

The young hero drank up the last of his water, placing the now empty flask in his pack and wiping the sweat off of his brow. He suddenly felt pretty stupid, journeying out on his own, but, then remembered his motives. None of the people he cared for can be hurt by him. Keeping this in mind, the boy pushed on, determined to track down his quarry.

Walking up to the edge of the pass, Finn stared out over the horizon, attempting to spot anything in the distance. The hollow wind was the only activity he could pick up on. Sighing in defeat, he began moving along the cliffs, hoping something would come along. For another half hour or so, the area was lifeless, with not even the occasional mountain dwelling critter to cheer up the loneliness Finn was feeling.

Suddenly, he stopped, swearing that he had heard a wisp in the air. Staying absolutely quiet, the human listened to the wind, confirming the existence of a low whooshing sound, as if something was traveling very fast along the ground. Finn swung around to study the gorge splitting the pass. Sure enough, he could see a rapidly approaching dust cloud in the distance.

Gotcha.

Looking around, he eyed a fairly flat slab of rock, immediately kicking it as hard as he could. Pleasantly enough, it plopped down and began sliding down the side of the gorge. Finn quickly jumped on top of it, carefully balancing himself out as the rock slid noisily down to the floor of the pass.

Even more fortuitous, he was outpacing the approaching dust cloud, which rocketed towards him at incredible speed.

It's her; it's got to be her.

Finally, the rock slipped off the side and landed bluntly on the floor of the gorge. Finn had timed his jump perfectly, landing cleanly in front of the rock, facing the oncoming dust. Instantly, the blurring force was upon him, about to run him clean over and continue its traverse across the land. Instead however, it stopped, in the blink of an eye, allowing the dust to catch up and momentarily blind the area to any who may have been nearby. Finn shielded his eyes, waiting for the debris to settle so that he could face his adversary.

As predicted, once the grainy fog had cleared, it revealed the form of Fifth Arc, standing quite still and glaring at Finn. The girl narrowed her eyes further and tightened her fists.

"What do you want?"

The young hero let out a breath, choosing to approach this calmly.

"I want to know why you've been attacking my friends."

Fifth Arc scoffed.

"It's not my fault if some of the guys get too 'aggro'."

She then looked to the side, slightly softening her scowl.

"Besides, Fourth Arc isn't completely to blame."

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"How do you figure?"

The girl looked back at him.

"He has a condition, it makes him go a bit nuts. As for Sixth, he's always being a giant lug, unable to think too far ahead."

She hesitated.

"I'm…sorry, for what they did. We're not trying to hurt anyone."

Finn grew an even more serious face.

"What are you planning?"

Fifth Arc scowled again.

"That's none of your business. I don't even know why I'm talking to you."

She was about to step around Finn, when the young hero pulled out his sword and aimed it at her.

"I can't let you go. I need answers. You're threatening my home and I won't-"

The boy gasped. He didn't even see it happen. His own weapon's tip was now almost pressed against his neck, and he wasn't the one holding it. Fifth Arc eyed him carefully as she pushed him back.

"Look, I don't want to have to get rid of you. There are way too few humans as it is."

Finn suddenly batted the sword out of her hands, allowing it to loudly clang to the ground and slide a good deal away. The hero stood back, then formed fists with his hands.

"How about this, we end this, here and now. If I win, you tell me everything."

Fifth Arc furrowed her brow.

"And what could you possibly have that I would want in the all too likely event that you lose?"

Finn thought hard about that.

"I'll leave you alone."

The girl pondered the proposition for a moment, then looked back to Finn.

"Fine. It won't take long anyway."

A second later, the circle on Fifth Arc's shirt glowed in a yellow hue. An identically toned ring expanded from the ground where she stood, enveloping all the surroundings rocks, boulders, and walls of the pass. Finn was also hit, covering him in the same yellow light. As he darted his eyes around to observe the phenomenon, he spotted a couple of hawks flying overhead, looking for a meal.

In an instant, they froze, utterly stopped in midair, yet unaffected by gravity. The wind had halted as well. The entire area was dead silent, with no sign of movement. Finn looked back to Fifth Arc as the colors faded out, leaving only their bizarre effects behind.

"What is this?"

The girl took an offensive stance and raised her own fists.

"One of Second Arc's most ingenious creations. An environment that swaps our current location with a random section of space-time. In this space, no one can interfere with a fight."

Finn tensed up, realizing this may be more difficult than he thought. Fifth Arc noticed this and let out a small smirk.

"This is, the Augmented Battlefield HAVEN."

A/N: Nice to see people enjoying this.

Adventureinoooh: Good to hear, thanks.

I am The7: My reaction? It was awful. Plain and simple.

Just a normal reader: Glad you think so.

OMAC001: That what I was going for, mysterious.